As we had promised Cade, we took a return trip to the Oregon Vortex, aka the House of Mystery (http://www.oregonvortex.com/). It had been some years since we'd been there - I recall it was the year my pal Syd was over here staying with us, and I guess Kelly was here that year too. On that occasion, it had all escaped me a bit - it seemed all smoke and mirrors - just optical illusions, I cynically thought.
This time around, however, I felt there was definitely something else going on - it's difficult to put your finger on it. Finer minds than mine - including Albert Einstein, no less - have attempted to rationalise the forces that are apparent. It's all about what they call the earth's terralines, intersecting at this point and creating a vortex, or whirpool type effect.
Anyway, there are strange things going on there - you can feel it. Horses and other mammals don't enter the area, although birds, insects, snakes etc are not put off. The guide demonstrates by using a simple spirit measure - as in woodworking, not ghosts! - that surfaces are level, but when people move a few feet, it seems as if they are getting not just taller, but also noticeably larger. It's uncanny. Jo was used in one of the demonstrations:
Jo didn't move - but the guide did. Jo has her eyes shut and is measuring where the guide's shoulder came up to, to try to measure the guide's apparent increase in size in the second picture. It's not as obvious in the above photos as it was in person, but if you look carefully, you can see there is a definite 2-3" of difference in his height.
This was further demonstrated by putting 2 people at opposite ends of the planks and then getting them to swap places. A plank of wood was put on their heads to demonstrate the change in the slope:
I wasn't quite standing square on to them, which is partly why the planks they're standing on look as if they are sloping up to the right - but it was measured all over and it was definitely level - although I'm not sure what level is in this area - it's weird.
Anyway, enough of that. It was interesting - it even kept the boys amused for an hour or so.
When Scott came home from work, we had a quick plate of Jo's lentil soup and then headed off to Applegate River GC again where there was a weekly Texas Scramble going on. We played with Paul, a scratch golfer who's planning on trying to make a belated attempt at playing the Tour. He hit the ball a good distance but his chipping and putting weren't quite up to standard - in fact, Syd's short game - at the age of 73 - is better than his.
Anyway, we tied for first place at 6 under for 9 holes - pretty good. We had to play off with another team to see who would win the money. It was nearest the pin from 100 yards, but we lost, so picked up 2nd place and $9 per head - not bad we thought.
Lucy's home made Watermelon Martinis, with added blueberries, washed down our doughnuts and was our consolation when we got back to Delsie Drive about 9 pm.
Today is another lazy day at home - hence this blog. Cade has still to choose what design he wants on his birthday cake - we had offered to take him to Albertson's today, but he's not ready yet, so we'll leave that one for Lucy. Tomorrow we're heading down to Medford again. We've promised the boys some time at the Family Fun Center, but have told them the trade off is that they come to Harry and David's (http://www.harryanddavid.com/gifts/store/home) with us without complaint. That's where we buy our holiday gifts - especially Moose Munch!
